Mission Overview

Figure 1. 3D modeling of our CubeSat constellation and one of the ground stations in STK 10 over 24 hours. Note the aliasing due to the time step.

Main Features

3SatImaging uses 90 3U-CubeSats in the same sun-synchronous plane to image the entire earth once a day in optimal noon-time lighting.

  1. Launch and Orbit Systems: Unlike other CubeSats which must wait to be launched in small batches, our constellation is designed to be all launched on a single Soyuz-2 rocket, offering a quicker time until operation and therefore quicker return on investment.
  2. Control Systems: Full attitude control systems ensures accurate camera and solar-panel pointing at all times.
  3. Imaging Systems: Up to 5.62 meters/pixel, with customer-focused compression tiers to dynamically provide quality where it counts most.
  4. Communication Systems: Base stations in the Arctic Circle and Antarctica provide downlink access during nearly 25% of each CubeSat's 93 minute period.
  5. Power Systems: 3 sun-pointed deployable solar panels and a 10Whr battery provide an uninterrupted supply of power to cover the average load of 11.91 Watts, and peak load of 24.47 Watts.
  6. Project Logistics: Our CubeSats use a variety of off-the-shelf and simple custom parts to balance cost and lead-time, aiming to begin full constellation operation as early as January 2017.

Figure 2. CubeSat CAD Model Skeletonized View

Figure 3. CubeSat CAD Model Closed View

Figure 4. CubeSat CAD Model Pointing View